Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Laryngol Otol, 2020 Dec;134(12):1085-1093.
PMID: 33308327 DOI: 10.1017/S0022215120002558

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate voice intensity as the primary outcome measurement when treating unilateral vocal fold paralysis patients.

METHODS: This prospective observational study comprised 34 newly diagnosed unilateral vocal fold paralysis patients undergoing surgical interventions: injection laryngoplasty or medialisation thyroplasty. Voice assessments, including maximum vocal intensity and other acoustic parameters, were performed at baseline and at one and three months post-intervention. Maximum vocal intensity was also repeated within two weeks before any surgical interventions were performed. The results were compared between different time points and between the two intervention groups.

RESULTS: Maximum vocal intensity showed high internal consistency. Statistically significant improvements were seen in maximum vocal intensity, Voice Handicap Index-10 and other acoustic analyses at one and three months post-intervention. A significant moderate negative correlation was demonstrated between maximum vocal intensity and Voice Handicap Index-10, shimmer and jitter. There were no significant differences in voice outcomes between injection laryngoplasty and medialisation thyroplasty patients at any time point.

CONCLUSION: Maximum vocal intensity can be applied as a treatment outcome measure in unilateral vocal fold paralysis patients; it can demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment and moderately correlates with self-reported outcome measures.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.